Quote:
Originally Posted by L.J.Steele
Found a bit about a Dutch company building U-boat components (NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw or IvS)...
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Well, there's more to that. First, the "Dutch" company was a front for a German joint venture of AG Vulcan and AG Weser, under the auspices of the Reichsmarineamt. Second, the IvS designed entire submarines, not just components, and had them built in and for third countries: Finland, the Soviet Union, Spain (with the two boats eventually being sold to Turkey instead). The contracts provided for IvS engineers to participate not just in sea trials but also in the initial training stages, so these "Dutch engineers" managed to get first-hand experience with modern submarines - which were forbidden to Germany by the Versailles treaty. Unsurprisingly, these small but modern submarines eventually turned out to be the prototypes for the German Typ I and Typ II classes.